Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Spent the night at Occupy Fort Wayne

Over the past week the nights have been wet, rainy and miserable, but I really had no excuse to avoid spending the night at Occupy Fort Wayne yesterday because the weather was about as good as one could expect this time of year. Turns out I showed up the first night "authorities" shut off both the electricity and running water. Occupiers took it in with good cheer. They've been hanging out at a pavilion in Headwaters Park near the bus station. It's kind of out of the way as far as visibility goes, and if the "authorities" want to push the protest out into a more visible area, they did the right thing by removing the only logistical advantages the park had to offer.

But anyway, we spent the night, mostly in the dark but in superb weather ... I was really surprised at how resilient the movement here in Fort Wayne is. There was on average a half dozen people awake at any given moment I was there, and who knows how many were sleeping in the tents -- I got there late at night and left at five in the morning. The demographic tended to be younger than the people who showed up at the rally, mostly college-aged kids, but then kids have more energy and better health to do that kind of thing. Still, these weren't a bunch of flakey slackers. I was pretty impressed at their overall knowledge of politics and monetary issues. All over the country police and local officials are under what I can only assume is tremendous pressure to shut things down. I pray they don't buckle under the pressure. These kids are resilient, caring people who are fighting for their children's future. God bless them all.

Namaste!

Welcome to my blog

This is where I come to vent and blather about what they don't seem to talk about in the mainstream news. I've written quite a few articles in the past (mostly on Portland Indymedia) and I'll try to include my favorites on here as well, when time allows. I also like to talk about ideas and solutions as to what we can do about the mess our planet is in. Check out my radio work, too.

About Me

I believe it's up to each and every one of us to contribute our own special talents to make this world a better place for all of us.
I used to volunteer for KRFP, a great community radio station in Moscow, Idaho. I have over 50 radio commentaries (including scripts) posted elsewhere on the internet. Check them out by searching under my name at http://radio4all.net!

Ojibway Prayer

Grandfather, look at our brokenness. We know that in all creation only the human family has strayed from the sacred way. We know that we are the ones who are divided and we are the ones who must come back together to walk in the sacred way. Grandfather, sacred one, teach us love, compassion, and honor that we may heal the earth and heal each other.